


Where's Casey?

by haloburns



Series: Band Practice [8]
Category: Night In The Woods (Video Game)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Gregg misses Casey, M/M, Moving On, moving in, they all miss Casey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-23
Updated: 2018-09-22
Packaged: 2019-01-21 18:25:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12463347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haloburns/pseuds/haloburns
Summary: Gregg misses Casey a lot...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> lmao fun fact, this was supposed to be a short one shot about Gregg grieving after he finds out Casey is missing (before Mae comes home and they find out it was a murder cult) and then it evolved into this.

Gregg had been lounging around his room with Angus when Mrs. Hartley came by. They’d been waiting on Casey to get started with band practice, but he was late. Gregg was pissed. Angus nudged him from his angry stupor and told him to answer the door. Begrudgingly, he got up and made his way to the door. He opened it, expecting to see a regretful Casey, but instead, he saw a sorrowful Mrs. Hartley.

“What happened?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. Mrs. Hartley had never come to his house and for all of Casey’s flaws, he was never, ever, ever late.

“He’s--He’s _gone_ ,” she said, sobbing the last word. Casey’s mom dissolved into sobs as she recounted the story of how he never came home and no one had seen him and the police believed he simply hopped a train.

“But I never got to say goodbye,” Gregg said in a quiet voice, tears catching in his throat. Angus was drawn into the room by a woman’s sobbing and he stopped in his tracks when he recognized Casey’s mother. Gregg said goodbye after promising to help look for him and the door shut quietly. Gregg didn’t turn to face Angus immediately, grief rising swiftly in his chest. Tears pricked his eyes and his throat closed up.

“He’s gone, isn’t he?” Angus always had a way with words. He didn’t sound bitter, or angry, or anything but understanding.

“He left without saying goodbye,” Gregg gasped before sobbing. Tears flowed hotly down his face as he screwed it up against the pain welling in his chest.

“How could he?!” he yelled because yelling was easier than crying. “He said he’d never leave without a goodbye at least! And why couldn’t he take me?!” Another sob racked his body. Following fast on grief’s heel was anger, and without thinking, Gregg grabbed the half-empty glass of water sitting on the coffee table and chucked it at the wall. Glass shattered in a shower of ringing songs and a water stain was left behind. Silence settled in the wake of the rather merry sound of glass breaking. Only Gregg’s sobs disrupted the sound. It was a long while before Gregg took a breath to speak.

“Was I not good enough for him?” Gregg asked. Pain was woven into every word, insecurity weaving in and out of each word. Angus gave a bitter laugh, knowing he thought _Gregg_ was too good for Casey. Not the other way around.

“You were more than enough, Gregg, and you know it,” Angus told him instead.

“Then explain to me why he’s gone!” Anger built again, but confusion swamped his senses and his eyes felt dry for all the tears on his face and shirt. Confusion as to why Casey was gone, why he hadn’t said goodbye, why Gregg wasn’t ever _enough_ for Casey. _Or for Mae,_  his traitorous brain said.

“I don’t know!” Angus yelled back and Gregg stopped crying because _oh my gods_ Angus had just yelled at him. “I don’t know why he’s gone or why he just cut us off or why Mae left and hasn’t been back, Gregg! I don’t know any of it! But I’m hurting too.” Angus had raised his voice, but he finished in his usual gentle voice. Shocked silence became a thick blanket between them as Gregg sank to the floor opposite the water stain on the wall. Angus sat against the arm of the couch, picking at imaginary lint.

“Will you stay with me?” Gregg asked in a quiet voice, his voice once more thick with tears. He seemed tentative to break the rather calming silence that had morphed from the shocked silence. Angus looked over at his best friend; his eyes traveled over Gregg’s face. It had aged years in minutes, his shoulders slumped in defeat, his general air of excitement evaporated.

“I’m never going anywhere, Gregg.” Angus stepped forward and pulled Gregg tightly against his chest. Gregg pressed his face against Angus’ sweater and let himself cry over Casey. _He was gone_ … Those words repeated themselves over and over, well into the night and long after Gregg had fallen asleep against Angus in the living room.

But Angus had stayed.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Eleven years had passed since they’d found out the truth about Casey. Gregg still cried sometimes; not for his lost boyfriend, but for his dead friend who was killed for the sake of a dying town. He cried because Casey’s life had been deemed worthless and was never given a chance to improve his life. Sometimes there was only anger about what happened. No words, no tears, just white-hot anger. Angus never bothered Gregg when he slipped into the anger because nothing he said could help.

Ten years had passed since they’d murdered an entire cult in Possum Springs. The nightmares and screams had died off, but they all still woke up crying in the middle of the night. But things weren’t all bad.

The Lost Constellation now played weekends at Bea’s nightclub and they were paid nicely for it, alongside their other jobs. Angus and Gregg had been married seven years now, but they still acted as if they’d married yesterday. Bea and Mae had taken longer to decide what they wanted from each other, but their third anniversary was coming up.

They moved from apartment to apartment when they could afford it until an affordable penthouse came on the market near the harbor.

“We’re still going to live together?” Mae asked tentatively at dinner a week before they signed off on the apartment.

“Of course, Mae. I don’t think we could ever do without the other,” Angus said, passing around a plate of food. He gave her a smile and she slowly smiled back.

“We know you guys want kids, Angus,” Bea said, her tone reasonable. The thought of leaving the two of them was weird and it made her heart beat with anxiety. But she would understand if they simply wanted to raise a family with the two of them.

“Then they’ll grow up with four parents,” Gregg said. He looked at Bea fiercely, wanting her to know she and Mae were never unwanted with them. Mae had explained it not long after they had moved to Bright Harbor. When she left Possum Springs, the singing had gotten worse. The call of the Black Goat was worse. It made everything around her stranger and everything felt _wrong._ She wanted nothing more than to run home and hide. But what she’d found at home was _much_ worse. After what they’d done, she said the singing hadn’t stopped, but when she was with all of them, it quieted enough that she could function. Moving to Bright Harbor had made Mae anxious, worried what had happened at college would happen again, but there was no longer a home to run safely to. But she’d said they were home enough. Together, the four of them _made_ home; that was good enough for her. And that was enough for all of them.

“Angus?” Mae looked at him, her eyes searching. For what, she wasn’t sure, but Angus was always steadfast and sure.

“Gregg and I have already decided this is what we want. If you guys want it too, of course.” They fell quiet as they were each in deep thought. Finally, Mae spoke.

“I don’t want to move away from my home, and you know that for me, home isn’t a place. So, we want to move in with you.” She looked to her wife, who was pushing food around her plate. Silence stretched for a few more minutes before a wry smile stretched across Bea’s face.

“It’s not like you can afford the rent without us,” she said.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Moving day came and went, as did the next two years. A flurry of people came and went from their apartment and everyone stressed over deadlines and worked to make the house a home.

Mae and Bea paced the house, full of anticipation. Mae could barely keep still and was constantly jumping off and over things, but Bea could hardly notice. She was on the balcony, smoking her way through her pack, not caring that it’d be her last one until next month.

The door creaked open and Mae and Bea whipped around to face Gregg and Angus coming through the door. Angus held a finger to his mouth as Gregg made his way slowly into the living room. His husband, Bea, and Mae circled around him, staring down at his arms in awe. A tiny baby wrapped in a green and brown blanket was sleeping soundly in Gregg’s arms. Her warm, brown skin seemed to radiate light and all of them were drawn to her light. Her curls were flaming red and abundant. Mae smiled bitterly. She looked just like--

“Casey. That’s her name.”

* * *

Of course,nothing was as beautiful as that moment. There were precious moments, sure. But none so pure. Apparently, Little Casey was determined to live up to her namesake. And she was only three. With four of them, she’d been a relatively easy baby. Now, despite her two parents and two caregivers, she managed to evade capture at almost every turn.

Today was such an event.

Little Casey had gotten a hold of a marker and Angus was the one who raised up the call the moment he’d seen her diapered butt disappear around the corner, shrieking with laughter. Bea ran out from her study, eyes locking immediately on the little tyke who had decided to become an artist. As Bea ran for her and the marker, Little Casey did a quick turn and tottered in the other direction. Gregg was the first one to come close, grabbing the marker from her tiny fists, marking his own hands in the process. By the time he looked down, she was gone. Her cries could be heard from where they stood and they all raced to find her, only to see Mae sitting calmly in front of her playing peek-a-boo.

“Where’s Casey?” she asked in her For Kids voice. “There she is!”


	4. Chapter 4

Life moved on and Little Casey went to school. Gregg was at the park with her, watching her play when Angus called to ask him what he wanted to do for dinner. Mae and Bea had left for a visit to Mae’s parents’ house in the next town over and wouldn’t be home for dinner.

When they had decided on a meal, Gregg turned around to call Little Casey to him, he couldn’t find her. He searched the crowd of children, looking for her shock of red curls, of her freckled face, of  _her_. Hot tears rolled down his face as he pulled his phone from his pocket and redialed Angus’ number.

“Gregg?”

“She’s gone,” he sobbed. Pain washed over him hard and fast and he couldn’t help stem the flow. “I turned around and she was  _gone_.”

“Gregg, you need to have someone call the police. I’ll stay on the line with you until I get there. I won’t be long, okay?” He nodded, forgetting Angus wasn’t right there. Still, he flagged down Jackie and asked her to phone the police. His Casey was missing again. Her brow wrinkled at “again,” but she didn’t comment. Soon, all the children were gathered in a group, frantically looking from one to the other. No one knew if Little Casey had wandered off or was taken, but just in case, the children were kept with a few of the parents while the rest looked through the area.

Angus arrived soon after they had started searching, minutes before the police showed up. Gregg was wrapped tightly in Angus’ arms before he could say anything and the words he wanted to say were replaced with sobs.  _Casey was gone_.

“We’ll find her,” Angus whispered into his husband’s hair, kissing his head even though Angus was shaking just as hard as Gregg.

* * *

The police asked a flurry of questions, sending units to canvas the city. They said Gregg’s quick reaction would make all the difference. They didn’t know what had happened the last time Gregg’s Casey went missing.

Angus had called Bea and Mae while the police talked to the other parents, Gregg holding his hand tightly. He knew they’d have shown up, but never expected them to come this fast from her parents’. Mae parked the car haphazardly and Bea jumped out before Mae had fully put the car in park. She ran to meet Gregg and Angus, Mae close on her heels.

“Where’s Casey?!” Bea yelled. Mae grabbed Gregg into a tight hug while Bea stalked towards an officer to demand... _anything_ from her because Little Casey wasn’t going to be taken from them by anyone.


	5. Chapter 5

Little Caseyhad been found sitting in an ice cream parlor a block away, sobbing. Apparently, she’d been chasing a cat to pet and had simply wandered too far. When she’d realized she was lost, her wails had brought the owner of the ice cream parlor out. She’d been less than friendly at first, ever suspicious and a product of her upbringing, with biting sarcasm even at six. But he had coaxed her to come inside while he phoned to find her parents. The promise of an ice cream sundae hadn’t stopped her bawling and the harried owner called the police to tell them he’d found a curly, red haired child who was entirely distraught. Mae drove Gregg, Angus, and Bea to the ice cream parlor, Gregg bursting through the door.

“CASEY ADINA DELANEY-LEE!” he yelled, pulling her up into his arms, holding her fiercely to him. She sobbed her apologies and he forgave her for the moment because now his heart was crying with relief.  _ Casey was okay _ . Old feelings swept over him and he sank into the nearest chair and rocked them both until they were calm.

Bea kissed Little Casey’s head and turned to thank the man who’d called and surprise washed over her.

“Germ? Germ Warfare?” Mae said, incredulity the only word for what she felt.

“Hey guys,” he said, a grin on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and that is how you effectively introduce a new character

**Author's Note:**

> the baby's full name is Casey Adina Delaney-Lee!! 
> 
> leave comments and kudos! 
> 
> (also ive been reading a lot of nitw fics and imma say this: the mae, bea, gregg, and angus im writing about are HUMAN. while i love the renditions of them in the game, theyre just an allegory for me. so mae is a chubby black woman with dark eyes and short, dyed hair, bea is a tall asian woman who's built as fuck from working in a hardware shop and having to do a lot of the lifting and things herself, gregg is mixed so his skin is a medium warm brown but he has like strawberry blonde hair but its a little more orangey and his face is covered in freckles and he's barely 5'5", and angus is tall as hell and black, and he's chubby too in the middle and loves his Dad apparel.)


End file.
